But, alas, the Party is having something of an existential crisis.
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The Trump haters have struggled to convince other third-party prospects to join the presidential contest. Even though he ran in 2012, Johnson is hardly a household name. Johnson has thrown his support, and campaign apparatus, behind former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld. Many have been skeptical over Weld’s libertarian credentials, especially his record on gun control and support for Republican politicians. While Johnson has endorsed Weld and is openly campaigning as a combined ticket, the choice of Johnson’s running mate is ultimately up to the delegates at the convention. But he may be saddled with a running mate not of his own choosing.
Johnson shook his head and walked away, as Petersen denounced Weld as a “horrible statist” and argued with a Johnson supporter who said that, at 35, Petersen was too young to represent the party.
“He showed that he was Republican-lite”, complained Jim Fulner, another MI delegate. “He just doesn’t seem to know the right thing to say in a Libertarian convention”, Johnson said.
Again, Johnson stood out from the pack when he didn’t answer whether the Democratic Party or Republican Party was more evil.
It is a ticket that could potentially appeal to major donors who are unwilling to commit to supporting Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Delegates voted a second time, giving Johnson the majority he needed (55.8 percent).
The Libertarian Party shares some similar goals with Sanders when it comes to ending the war on drugs, driving down college debt, and reluctant military action. “They’re fully capable of doing so to show that they’re not under the thumb of the man they just nominated”.
A Fox poll conducted Friday had support for Johnson at surprising 10 percent of the national vote.
According to the same poll, Republican Donald Trump is at 34 percent and likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is at 42. In 1992, Ross Perot pulled 19 percent of the national vote, the high-water mark for third-party challengers. In 1968, George Wallace, governor of Alabama, captured 14 percent of the vote.
“The guy parachuting in from the NY law firm and the Republican Party really has to sell himself to those delegates”, Boaz said. Despite the brief chance at a contested convention, both of the old party conventions will be expensive, scripted coronations.
His supposed transgressions from Libertarian orthodoxy have earned him outright disdain from numerous party’s attendees. “There are dumpster fires in my town more popular than these two”, scoffed Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a conservative who rebuffed overtures to run as a third-party candidate.
Then as now, Johnson squandered much of his scarce media coverage complaining about being omitted from polls. His success would depend, at least in part, on a robust campaign infrastructure. Party observers and experts say Weld is likely the favorite for the vice-presidential nod going in, but it’s no slam dunk. “After this convention, people will be looking to us to describe what it means to be a Libertarian”.
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Gary Johnson is expected to become the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president. In 1980, Republican Congressman John B. Anderson of IL, who could not abide Ronald Reagan, mounted an independent challenge and won just under 7 percent of the vote. It is, however, a very long way from a “moment” that could impact the November election in a meaningful way. Millions of voters may be ready for an alternative to a Democrat or Republican candidate, but the alternatives may not be ready for the voters.
